The Warfare of Vernon Howell... Against the Branch

8/9/2019 The Warfare of Vernon Howell... Against the Branch

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Vernon .u:(a.l.a . ::D avid _)(oreJh)an d

Seventh

"And the dragon as roth ith the oman, and ent to make ar ith the remnant of her

seed, hich keep the commandments of God, and have the testimon! of Jesus Christ."

Revelation 12: 17


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~he War/are

0/Vernon .u: t.i.: ::David _)(ore6h) and other6

afjain6t the

Branch ::Davidian Seventh ::Da Adventi6t6

Cop#righ %

Sepember 2003, Do!glas Francis Michell

All Righs Reser"ed

Original Cop#righ: 1993

Re"ised: Sepember 2003

Wrien b#

Do!glas Francis Michell

rinted in the $nited #tates of America


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R9AC9

Bhe folloing is presented to set straight the facts of the matter, and as a arning and an

appeal. @o attempt is made herein to suppl! the ehind the scene facts unknon to this author. Bhat

ill remain for others ho have access to those facts. Bhe asic aim of this testimon! is to sho that

ernon ;oell* (later knon as 8avid =oresh*) and his folloers left the authentic ranch 8avidian

#eventh 8a! Adventists Association (aka, "Bhe ranch"), headIuartered at @e ?t. Carmel Center,Daco, Beas, in 13+/ as a ne, distinct movement hich aandoned most of the fundamental

principles and practices of the true movement. At the time ;oell started his distinct movement he

named it the "8avidian ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists," L5see Appendi 1M6. Aout

four !ears later ;oell dropped that name and unlafull! usurped the name and propert! of the true

Church. Bhe name "ranch 8avidians" came into use ! the media during the notorious 133 eventsinvolving 8avid =oresh and his folloers.

*@ote: or the sake of accurac!, < ill e referring to him (;oell=oresh) ! the name heas going ! at the time the events hich are eing related occurred.

R8 hath a controvers! ith his people, and he ill plead ith


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their peace and safet!, elfare and happiness, and knoledge of ;is ill and ord.

Dhile the testimon! herein concerns the theft of the identit! and propert! rights of a

seemingl! small and relativel! disr egarded congregation, the real arfare hich underlies it involves

God's rights to rule his people and ;is orld his a!, and to e represented in truth and righteousness.

#o though e have the r ight to protest against the a! e have een aused through the situation

ith =oresh, God has an infinitel! greater right to raise ;is oHections to the hole matter. "ut

there ere false prophets also among the people, even as there shall e false teachers among !ou,ho privil! shall ring in damnale heresies, even den!ing the >ord that ought them, and ring upon

themselves sift destruction. And man! shall follo their pernicious a!s: ! reason of hom the

a! of truth shall e evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall the! ith feigned ords make

merchandise of !ou: hose Hudgment no of a long time lingereth not, and their damnationslumereth not." 2 eter 2: 1+.

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+&S+(MO*-

A+'OR$S '(S+OR-

< came in contact ith the #eventh 8a! A dventist Church (#8A) in the summer of 1377, and

as aptiKed later that !ear. A fe months later < came in contact ith the teachings of the 8avidian

#eventh 8a! Adventists (a.k.a. "#hepherd's Rod," or "8avidians"), a reform movement ithin the

Church. ois Roden (en's ife), ho as the successor president of the ranch 8avidian #eventh

8a! Adventists. < as a firsthand itness to the malicious scheme to defame and destro! the ork of

en and >ois Roden, their predecessors, and the ork of the ranch movement, itself, ! ernon;oell (8avid =oresh), and others.

< first met ernon ;oell in #eptemer 131, at ?rs. Roden's daughter's house in the

Riverside area of #outhern California. ;e had driven her to some meetings she had in the area.

#hortl! efore this time ernon had come to @e ?t. Carmel Center, in Daco, Beas, and offered

his laors to ?rs. Roden. ;e seemed like a nice person, ut overconfident in his knoledge of the#criptures, hich appeared to e rather road. < can't sa! the same aout his respect and appreciation

of them or of God of hich the! testif! and Dho inspired them.

#hortl! after that time he said that he felt that he had a message for the ranch memers, ut

it as not received then ! those to hom it as presented at @e ?t. Carmel Center. ReHected in

his attempts to gain a folloing at that time, he left our felloship. ;e came and ent over the net

!ear, onl! to return in earl! 13, and then again in the fall of 13 to tr! again.

@ever at an! time did he actuall! accept an! of the asic moral teachings and practices of the

ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists, as time has ell proven. ;e as disfelloshipped from the

#eventh 8a! Adventist Church for moral reasons shortl! efore he came to Bhe ranch movement,

and never amended his pernicious a!s. 9ach time he returned to ?t. Carmel Center, he ould relate

to us ho he had Hust gotten in troule (usuall! ith a girl friend), and ould dra s!mpath! from

people.;e didn't put in print the sustance of his special message (sic), though he did pulish a fe

short items. ?ost of his teaching as oral. ;e emphasiKed the difference eteen the oral manner of

his message, and the printed manner of all the former leaders. Bhis, in and of itself, made it eas! for

him to set forth an illusion efore his listeners, for the! eren't ale to readil! revie the

foundations of his teachings in a setting isolated from his direct influence, and here the! could

pra!erfull! commune ith God regarding hat he as teaching. #ome of his studies ere tape

recorded. ut neither did an! of those contain an!thing ith a sound foundation. ;e ould pull things

from here and there, and then ould continuall! sa! "see, see." Itas all smoke and mirrors. ;e

ould attempt to intimidate people into seeing things that eren't there ! elittling them ecause of

their alleged spiritual lindness, and ! noting the supposed spiritual insight of those ho hadsalloed up his hook, line, and sinker.

Bo understand h! he came to Bhe ranch at that time, and ho he as ale to takeunlaful control of the Church's propert! and identit! it is necessar! to understand hat as

transpiring in the movement during that time. An understanding of ho the Church is structured and

functions is also necessar!. And, as man! ho disagree ith our doctrines and practices have

misrepresented such and have laeled us as a cult (in the negative sense of the ord), it is incumentupon us to defend such slanderous misrepresentations !

A %AS(C S+A+&M&*+ OF OR %&)(&FS

0


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uther,

=no, Desle!, Campell, etc .. Bhat is, e acknoledge that there has not onl! een a falling aa!

from the purit! of the Gospel religion of the ile in the centuries folloing the times of Christ and

the Apostles, ut there has also een an ongoing propheticall! definale ork of restoration to the

purit! of doctrine and practice of the religion of t he ile ! means of those aforementionedreformers and those ho have folloed thereafter.

De ma! also e identified as Judeo+Christians. ?eaning that e accept the ld and @e

Bestaments and the divinel! inspired traditional principles and practices revealed therein as guiding in

our eliefs and practices. Bhis also means that e reHect the traditional principles and practices hich

ere the fundamentals of the a!lonian, 9g!ptian, ersian, Greek, Roman, and uninspired Jeish

cultures hich have found their a! into hat is commonl! knon as the Christian Church, and

hich to one degree or another still eist in the various congregations of rotestants, Catholics, and

those felloships hich technicall! do not fall into either categor! (such as $niversalists, ?ormons,Jehovah Ditnesses, ?essianic Jes, etc.).

ne of those heathenpagan fundamentals is heroancestor orship hich is epressed

toards the living as ell as the dead. Bhis consists not onl! of the legends and lore surrounding the

ealted ones, ut also in the erection of monuments, shrines, temples, gardens, and other places and

things here! to dra attention to men and their thinking rather than to God and ;is ill. Bhis also

includes the giving of flattering titles to men, and assigning them positions unfounded in the ord of God, thus separating rethren.

Another of those fundamentals is the invention of times and manners of celeration hich

ecite the sensual and selfish natures hile stifling the true spiritual eperiences, and hich eaken

the moral oligations of love. aramount among those inventions are Christmas+keeping and the

common 9aster celerations. And not the least it ehind the others is the m!sticising of asic

fundamentals of life, and the deep things of God ! the things hich take place in the customar!

#unda! orship hour practices, including the traditional oservances of the >ord's #upper in thevarious forms practiced ! the different denominations.

De are also distinguished ! our acceptance of hat in the ile is termed

+'& S(R(+ OFRO'&C- . +'& +&S+(MO*- OF /&SS

It is a fundamental teaching of the #eventh 8a! Adventists (#8A), 8avidian #eventh 8a!Adventists (8#8A), and the ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists (8#8A), that the gift of

prophec! (the #pirit of prophec! + Revelation 12:17, 13:1-) spoken of in the ile is t o eist in

the Church to r ing her, and keep her in unit! until the second coming of Christ (


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controvers!. As true prophec! is a gift of God, it is ;is responsiilit! to clear the misunderstanding

and misuse of the gift if ;e is to continue to emplo! it as a means of communicating ith ;is

children (Amos :7). ;oelll=oresh took advantage of the church's need for the gift of prophec! !

counterfeiting it, and there! rought himself and others to destruction there!. Itis eIuall! true thathe as not the first to ause this need, nor, sad to sa!, ill he e the last (?atthe 2/:11,2/).

;o this relates to the situation under discussion can e discerned through an understanding

of h! the Church is named as it is. irst, e have the name

AD&*+(S+S

(n the earl! 1--'s a movement egan ithin the Christian Church orldide ased on

events hich ere then elieved to e the fulfillment of certain ile prophecies hich pointed to

the second coming of Christ. oremost among those prophecies ere ones in chapters 7 N of the

ook of 8aniel, regarding the "2-- da!s" prophec! and the "cleansing of the sanctuar!." @umerous

ile students in various places throughout the orld and in man! different felloships had noticed

that certain recent events fit into the "2-- da!s" time line set forth in 8aniel. At first that period

as thought to etend to 1/, ut as later found to etend to ctoer 22, 1//.

Eor a more detailed eposition of those events and the determining of the eginning

and ending of the 2-- da!s prophec! please see the ook entitled, &he %reat"ontrover#$ ! 9llen G. Dhite, and availale through the #eventh 8a! AdventistChurch, and on line at L5Bhe Gr eat Controvers!M6MF.

ne of the most prominent of those events occurred in 173. At that time, during the

rench Revolution, rance's General erthier had gone to Rome, captured the ope, and took him to

the mountains of rance here he later died. Bhis led to the destruction of the local civil poer of

the Roman Catholic Church in 17-, hen


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earth (and particularl! Rome) as the center of the universe, and that general notion carried on into

the rotestant churches. Bhus, the phrase "the cleansing of the sanctuar!" as generall! understood

to mean that Jesus ould return to the earth to "cleanse" it from sin and sinners. Bhus the name

"Adventists" as placed upon those ho ere epecting the advent (coming) of Christ.

At this time in histor! it as generall! elieved among the churches that God as no longer

communicating ith mankind ! means of direct inspiration + i.e., prophec!. or eample, some of

the devout men ho ere prominent in the founding of the $nited #tates ere hat is knon asDei#t#. Bhat is, though the! elieved in God, the! onl! sa God as the original Creator and that ;e

as no longer directl! active in the affairs of the orld. ?an! of the popular churches of the time

taught that the gifts of the #pirit, such as the gift of prophec!, ere onl! for the ld testament and

the earl! Church times, and that the! ceased forever shortl! after the time of the Apostles.

8uring the 1--s, the Christian orld as still coming out of hat has een called &he Dar

A'e#. Itas onl! a fe hundred !ear s prior to that time that the iles ere chained up in

monasteries ith onl! a ver! fe alloed access to them. Bhe people ere led to look to the leaders

of the churches to kno God's ill. An!one ho ould state that the! had a revelation from God

hich as contrar! to the opinions of the church leaders as in Heopard! of facing a charge of heres!and death.

Bhe rotestants, ho since the earl! 10--s had severed their connections ith the Roman

Catholic Church, ere ! the 1--s divided into four maHor groups + >utherans, res!terians,

?ethodists, and aptists. Bhough there ere other prominent non+Catholic groups around, their

asic doctrines and practices stemmed from one of those four maHor groups of thinking. Bhen, as

toda!, those groups ere generall! r el!ing on their leaders and scholars to interpret for them the

meaning of the prophecies (ho the! appl!), and hat are the true ile doctrines. Bhe! presumed

that their prominent leaders ere actuall! inspired ! God in all things. Great intellect, scholarship,

orator! skills, and persona ere pr esumptivel! accepted as evidence that one held the truth in

righteousness. ?ost felloships accepted the opinions of their on leaders, hile reHecting the leaders

of the other churches. #uch is still the situation toda!, though the! are no uniting for common

purposes ithout giving up the particulars hich identif! each as distinct from the other.

Bhough the founders of these gr oups ere inspired in their ork of restoring man! of the

ilical truths and reforming man! of the practices hich ere supplanted during the 8ark Ages, all

of their movements eventuall! ecame polluted ith private interpretations and theories, some of

hich came from ithin themselves, and some from ithout. After the death of the inspired leaders,the fundamental principles hich led to the acceptance of the revelation of clearer light on the ile

hich the reformers rought to their various congregations ere generall! set aside ! those ho

folloed after them, eing replaced ith formalism and the idoliKing of the leaders and the customsthe! espoused.

Bhe Advent ?ovement of the earl! 1--s rought a means of unit! among those of the

various denominations ho participated in it as the! ere illing to put aa! their private opinions

and practices in their common goal of understanding hat ere their true duties in preparing to meet

their #avior. Bhere as a true revival of spiritualit! and rotherl! love rought forth ! the hope of

Christ's epected coming and the realiKation of each persons need of personal preparation for such.

ord and #avior.

Bhen came hat as later to e knon as &he %reat Di#a**ointent. ctoer 22, 1//

came and ent. Jesus had not returned, nor as the earth cleansed. #ome of those ho had not

learned to appreciate God's illingness and desire to lead ;is people into all truth, and ho ere

satisfied ith the interpretations of their so+called scholars and other leaders ere led into accepting

different dates, onl! to e disappointed again and again. thers, influenced ! their unelieving

families, friends, or associates, or ho still longed for the things of the orld ( the lusts of the e!es,


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the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life,) Hust aandoned their hopes, and denounced the

movement. Oet, others ere unale to so easil! cast aa! the lessed hope hich had so enlightened

their lives. rom among these came those ho ere later to e knon as

S&&*+' DA- AD&*+(S+S

A numer of those ho ere confirmed on the certaint! of the date of ctoer 22, 1//

huml! sought God for an eplanation of the situation, and received an anser. Itasn't the datethat as rong, it as the uninspired interpretation of the nature of the event + the cleansing of the

sanctuar!. Bhe true nature of the event as revealed ! means of visions given to at least to

different people hich produced deep stud! into the suHect. #aid stud! confirmed hat as revealedin the visions.

Bhe visions revealed that it as the #anctuar! in heaven (of hich the earthl! sanctuar! of

the ancient eviticus 1). Just so ere (and are) the sins of repentantpeople, in realit!, transferred to the heavenl! #anctuar!, there to e atoned for, and that it also

reIuires a cleansing in the end of the age + in the antit!pical 8a! of Atonement.

Bhe! learned that the ile taught of the realit! that there are ooks of records in heaven

hich contain the deeds (good and ad) of all, and the names of those ho sought forgiveness for

their evil deeds through God's merc! (8aniel 7:1-4 Revelations 2-: 12, 21:27). Bhe! sa that these

ooks are k ept so that during the final Hudgement those ho sit in Hudgement ma! revie them to

understand God's final decisions, and so that those ho are Hudged ma! see their on histor! and

God's attempts to redeem them. Also, that the inhaitants of the multitude of the unfallen orlds

and the angels in heaven ma! full! understand the great controvers! eteen sin and righteousness,

and that God's final dealings ith sinners and the reellion hich egan in heaven are the outcome oftheir on free ill choices.

Bhe! also learned that during the time of the cleansing of the heavenl! sanctuar! (in itsinitial phase) those ooks ould e revieed in order to determine ho ould come up in the

resurrection of the Hust (1 Bhessalonians /:1/+17), and ho ould come up in the resurrection of the

unHust (Revelation 2-:0+7). Bhis phase of the cleansing of the sanctuar! is knon as the Jud'eent

of the Dead. eviticus 1:), s o it ill e in the fulfillment of

the real (antit!pical) events. Bhat is, though God and ;is folloers have een accused ! the devil of

man! things in eercising ;is divine ill and la in the universe, God ill ultimatel! e Hustified in all

matters, and the devil ill ear the fruits of his prid e + his on sins, and the sins of those he tempted

3


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ut such as not to e the end of their eperience, as i t as revealed to them in the prophec! that

the! ere to "prophes! again efore man! peoples, and n ations, and tongues, and kings." Dhat the!

ere to prophec! again aout as the true nature of the cleansing of the sanctuar! hich took placeat the end of the "2-- da!s." And so it has een since then.

@ot onl! as the ook ork aspect of the Hudgment in the heavenl! #anctuar! rought to

light, ut more importantl! as the nature and effect of Christ's on ork therein as it relates to ;is

sacrifice. Bhat is, ;is ongoing ork as ;igh riest ho ever lives to make intercession ! ;is loodfor the redemption of sinners. Bhe! ere led to the realiKation that the true understanding of Christ's

continuing intercession had een lost sight of and displaced ("cast don" and "taken aa!" + 8aniel

: 11) ! the "man of sin." (2 Bhessalonians 2:, /). Bhat the true eperience of the earl! Christian

Church (the doctrines and practices), had een supplanted ! the introduction of pagan philosophies

and customs hich cumulated in the ringing in of, and the perpetuation of the *erforance of the

-a##. ;o this particular issue is at the heart of the matter involving =oresh4 ho it relates to h!

=oresh and others engaged in this arfare against the ranch4 ho it as influential in the a! the

133 incident and its aftermath have transpired ill e discussed further on.

?uch of the #eventh 8a! Adventists' understanding aout the nature and latter da! events of

the clean#in' of the Sanctuar came ! means of the gift of the #pirit of prophec! manifestedprimaril! through one person,

&))&* 2W (D +&

#eventh 8a! Adventists elieve that the gift of prophec! as manifested in 9llen G. Dhite,

and the #8A Church as raised up and led ! her counsel and those ho orked ith her. As the

Church folloed her inspired counsel the! prospered, and hen the! didn't, the! suffered loss. Bhe

earl! #8As firml! elieved and taught that the ile clearl! taught that this gift of God, prophec! (1

Corinthians 12: 1-, 24 9phesians /: 11), along ith all of the other gifts, must eist in the Church

"until that hich is perfect is come." (1 Corinthians 1: 1-).

Bhough 9llen Dhite taught that her inspired ritings and counsels (much of hich ere

ased on dreams and visions) are a "lesser light" pointing to the greater light of the ;ol! ile, she

elieved and taught that the inspired testimonies hich she as given to ear ere to e considered !

her rethren (and her self) as the "voice of God" to the people. Bhat is, she taught that the counselshich she as given to communicate ould ear evidence of their divine origin in the people eing

lessed ! t heir tak ing to heart the testimonies and ! personall! draing closer to God for

confirmation of the same, or ! eing cursed ! their reHection thereof..

#he never claimed infalliilit!, as she elieved that God as progressivel! revealing truth in

the restoration of all things (


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"God gave them ;is la, ut the! ould not oe! it. ;e then gave them ceremonies and

ordinances, that, in the performance of these, God might e kept in rememrance. Bhe! ere so

prone to forget ;im and ;is claims upon them that it as necessar! to keep their minds stirred up to

realiKe their oligations to oe! and honor their Creator. ;ad the! een oedient, and loved to keep

God's commandments, the multitude of ceremonies and ordinances ould not have een reIuired.

"


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another da!, for Christ ;imself honored the da! hen ;e rested on it eteen ;is crucifiion hen

;e stated that ;is ork as "finished" (John 13:-), and ;is resurrection on the first da! of theeek hen ;e took up ;is ork again.

Bhe keeping of #unda! as the so+called #aath had ecome a prominent feature of hat

ecame k non as the Catholic Church. Bhe leaders of the Catholic Church oast that the!, on their

on authorit!, changed the #aath from #aturda! to #unda! in honor of the resurrection of Christ,

hich took place on the first da! of the eek, #unda!. Bhis change is said to have een made officialin the /th centur! A.8. ut toda! e also have those ho do not consider themselves Catholics ut

ho still keep #unda! as a special da! of orship. Bhese give different reasons for doing such, ut are

nonetheless asicall! united ith Catholics in their opposition to keeping the true seventh da!#aath, #aturda!.

olloing are some statements from the Catholic Church on the matter:

"rotestantism, in disregarding the authorit! of the ECatholicF Church has no good reason for

its #unda! theor!, and ought, logicall!, to keep #aturda! as the #aath." John Gilmar! #hae, "Bhe

servance of #unda! and Civil >a or . Cona!, "Bhe Question o Ansers" (@e Oork:Bhe Columus ress, 13--), p. 20/.

"


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one of their main institutes of higher education, a!lor $niversit!. ?ore on this matter ill e

discussed further on. Also, ear in mind that under one of the si flags hich have flon over Beas

throughout its histor!, Roman Catholicism as the mandator! religion of the state.

Oet in another position are those, such as the Church of 9ngland, ho sa! that the la is still

inding, ut that the change as not made on the authorit! of the Roman Catholic Church, ut rather

! Christ, ;imself. Bhese rest the #criptures out of their contet to make it appear that the

keeping of the seventh da! as the #aath as onl! for the Jes, eing onl! a provision of the

?osaic la specificall! for them, and thus as changed ith the death of Christ.

Regarding the controvers! over the #aath (the 7th da!), it is of note that the calendar

hich is in common use in Destern countries starts ith #unda! (the 1st da!) and ends ith #aturda!

(the 7th da!). Bhough the date# assigned to the da!s of the eeks have een changed at times

through the course of histor!, the actual eekl! c!cle has een uninterrupted since its inception.

It is notale that in the last couple of decades there has een an active movement in

German! (hich has historicall! held an a nti+Jeish attitude) to change their calendar so that

?onda! ecomes the first da! of t heir calendar eek, and #unda! the seventh da!. Dith a change

like this, and the education of a ne generation or to to forget the true histor! of the controvers!,

the German societ! (and others hom the! influence) ould e elieving that #unda! as the seventh

da! of the ile, and thus the true #aath. #ome are even tr!ing to make a ten da! eek, further

oliterating the memor! of the seven da! eek estalished at creation ! a ise Creator.

Bhe Catholic leaders sa! that the! had the authorit! to have made the change from #aturda!to #unda!, though there is nothing in the ile hich sanctioned such a change. Bhe! ase their

claim on Christ's ords, "hatsoever thou shalt ind on earth shall e ound in h eaven: and

hatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall e loosed in heaven." Bhis statement as made oth to

eter (?atthe 1:13), and to the church (?atthe 1: 1). Bhe controvers! arises over to hom

eactl! does the promise appl! + those ho are trul! acting in accordance ith God's ill, or those

ho are onl! pretending to do so.

! the fourth centur! A.8., the church as so flooded ith pagans and their philosophies

through associations ith, and concessions from the Roman government, and through compromises

due to persecution, that she could scarcel! e recogniKed as the congregation hich originated in the

;ereJudean, ilical culture.


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to demand hat our r eason approves, and that e should have nothing in common ith the

Jes.... EandF accept Ho!full! the divine favour, and this trul! divine command4 for all hich

takes place in the assemlies of the ishops ought to e regarded as proceeding from the ill

of God ....e can thus celerate this hol! 9aster da! at the same time, if it is granted me, as R84 and < ill cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee ith the heritage

of Jaco th! father: for the mouth of the >R8 hath spoken it."


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on mouths (ords), are the focus of the da!.


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pulic places of America, the!, therefore, ould rather have none displa!ed at all. Ithas long een ageneral teaching in the Catholic Church for their memers not to even talk ith rotestants,

especiall! on matters of religious doctrine. Also, in their ording of the #aath commandment the

ords concerning the >ord creating the orld in si da!s and ;e ;imself resting on the seventh da!,

and therefore halloing and sanctif!ing the seventh da! in the original commandment are purposel!

left out, there! further attempting to oliterate the true meaning and nature of the #aath + that

of God's rest hich men are invited to enter into.Bhis same antagonism toards the eposure of Catholic assumptions is also manifest in the

moves to make #panish a second language in man! or all of the #tates of America. Bhe R oman

Catholic Church is seeking to prevent the #panish+speaking Catholics in America from eing ale to

come in contact ith the rotestant doctrines ! means of the 9nglish+speaking Americans under

the guise of preserving the cultural heritage hich as forced on them long ago + R oman

Catholicism, and their authorit! to enforce #unda! keeping ! civil edict. ?an! are aare that the

free preaching of the rotestant doctrines in Catholic countries is not alloed ! their governments.

Oet the antagonism against Adventists, in general, ! the Roman Catholic hierarch! is not

limited to the matter of the #aath. At the heart of the #aath controvers! is the matter of the

leadership's authorit! to define doctrines and practices, and to ordain elders (priests, ishops etc.).

oremost in the eercise of their assumed authorit! is their ailit! to vote in a ne pope. 9ven

though a pope occupies the position of eing the "icar of Christ," that is, Christ's mouthpiece, ;is

prophet, it onl! takes a vote of 2 of those ho vote to make one of their on the pope. Bhat

means that as man! as 1 o f the voting elders ma! not elieve that the one elected pope is not

orth! of eing hat he is proclaimed to e. ut it is necessar! to k eep a pope upon the throne in

order to keep up the appearance that Christ is in the church through the living #pirit of prophec!. #o

ithout cheapening the matter, the controvers! eteen the Adventists in general and the Roman

Catholics ma! e summed up in one phrase + dueling prophets, each r epresenting diametricall!

opposed principles. n the one hand is God's la and those ;e inspires to uphold it, and on the other

are men's private, satanicall! inspired interpretations of that la and those hom the! elect topropagate it.

Bhis controvers!, in principle, did not egin in the Christian era as Jesus, ;imself,

condemned the practice as it as alread! eisting among the J es of ;is da! (?atthe 10:34 ?ark

7:7+14 Colossians 2:224 N Bitus 1: 1/). @or is it confined to the Roman Catholic Church, ut

etends to all professed #unda!+keeping Christian churches (and even man! #aath+keeping ones).Bhere is so much confusion in the so+called Christian churches regarding doctrines and practices that

such have ecome a veritale a!lon (Bhe name "a!lon" has come to mean "confusion"

EmiingF, ecause it as at the toer of ael ere man's language as confounded EmiedF + Genesis11:3).

8ue to the fact that the condition of those organiKations has een notal! deteriorating

morall! and spirituall! (eing mied ith countless private interpretations of the ile truths), the

Adventists have come to recogniKe that God has Hust so designated those ministries + as "a!lon."

(Revelation 1/:4 1:2), and that God's true people ithin them ill have to come out of them if

the! do not ant to partake of the Hudgements hich ill eventuall! fall on all ho constitute"a!lon."

Bhe title of a!lon is given to those organiKations not mer el! ecause of the confusion

the! have rought to the orld over the #aath, ut also ecause of the man! other doctrines andpractices hich the! have attempted to pass off as Christian + that is, Christmas+keeping, 9aster

celerating, etc. + hile knoing all along that such things are of pagan or igin.


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Bhis should not e construed to impl! that there are not sincere Christians in those

congregations, ut is said to impress upon the seeker of truth the realit! of h! God has to call ;is

people out of those organiKations, and the doctrines and practices the! espouse, to it, "a!lon the

great is fallen, is fallen, and is ecome the haitation of devils, and the hold of ever! foul spirit, and a

cage of ever! unclean and hateful ird. or all nations have drunk of the ine of the rath of her

fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication ith her, and the merchants of

the earth are aed rich through the aundance of her delicacies. And < heard another voice fromheaven, sa!ing, "oe out of her$ *eo*le$ that e 4e not *artaer# of her #in#$ and that e receive

not of her *la'ue#. or her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath rememered her iniIuities."

Revelation 1:2+0.

8ifferences in doctrines and practices ma! have no great effect on those ho are opposed to

them unless the! enter the politics of ever!da! life and the las of the communit!. And such has it

een ith #unda! keeping. Bhat is, the! have een enforced ! civil la, ith pains in var!ing

degrees upon the transgressors thereof. Bhus, in light of the long past and more recent histor! of

such manmade las, and the current attempts eing made to reestalish the dominion of those

authorities hich espouse the civil enforcement of #unda! las, and in light of the r evelation and

fulfillment of certain ile prophecies (Revelation 1: 11+1), Adventists have een led to understand

and teach that the enforcement of #unda! las ill e

+'& MAR4 OF+'& %&AS+


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As revealed in chapters 7 & of the ook of 8aniel, 4ea#t# represent nation# and

'overnent#$ and horn# represent their distinctive *olitical *o5er#$ e the! individuals or groups.

Bhat horn# represent *olitical *o5er#$ and ho a 4ea#t uses its horn# is also seen in a prophec!

recorded in the ook of Sechariah:

"Bhen lifted < up mine e!es, and sa, and ehold four horn#. And ord's return ill receive their reards hen the! come up

in one of the resurrections (1 Bhessalonians /: 14 or Revelation 2-:0, ), hile those ho remain

alive unto ;is coming ill receive their reards ithout tasting death, and thus must come up to a

higher standard hile living. Bhis higher standard ma! onl! e otained ! a fuller revelation of truth.

n the 8a! of Atonement the people are commanded to "afflict" their souls. Bhough this

as usuall! accompanied ! fasting from food, the idea of the afflicting the! ere to do unto their

souls as that of a roeating, and speaking don of one's self + candidl! eamining themselves in

true humilit!. #uch an eamination opens the doors of the heart and mind here! the ;ol! #piritma! cleanse and restore the soul.

As hat en Roden as doing as prophesied in ictor ;outeffs ritings and the ile, it

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as clear to those 8avidians ho honestl! investigated hat he as teaching that he as anointed to

e the net prophetpresident of the Church. ois Roden, had their

memerships epire, for most ere issued for onl! one !ear at a time. en and >ois Roden ere the

onl! 8avidians hose memership cards ere signed ! ictor ;outeff, ith no epiration date onthem.

Bhere ere several outside forces hich ere also active in ringing aout the so+called

dissolution of the 8avidian Church and the sale of its propert!. Among those forces ere some hich

ere also highl! influential in the a! things turned out ith the =oresh situation. ne of the more

prominent is the fact that the cit! of Daco as epanding its domain up to the edges of ?t. Carmel

Center. Bhere ere also r esidential developers ho anted the ?t. Carmel propert!. ?t. Carmel

Center as located on a hill hich later ecame one of the nicer residential areas of Daco. Bhere

ere also influences from the #unda! keeping churches, and other groups in Daco ho ere generall!

opposed to #8As and 8#8As.


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in disregard of the other Church memer's rights. ?ore on this matter ill e discussed later.

Bhe! eventuall! sold all of the original land, and ! 1303 ought more land (3/1 acres) aout

1- miles east of Daco (also knon as ?t. Carmel Center, or @e ?t. Carmel Center).


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Itas not until 137 that en Roden as ale to somehat stop their actions. Bhis involved

having to go to the Beas #upreme Court herein it as ruled that a tru#t did eist ithin the Churchdue to the second tithes paid ! its memers, and that those trust funds had een invested in the

Church's propert!, @e ?t. Carmel. Oet the local Daco court did not properl! appl! this ruling, and

proceeded to continue to rongfull! dissolve the Church. At this time onl! aout 77 acres of the 3/1

acres remained, ith no other cash or propert! assets. Bhis 77 acres on @e ?t. Carmel is the place

here the events involving 8avid =oresh eventuall! occurred. en actuall! had to use the second

tithe interests hich he and others alread! had in the propert! to u! it ack from the unlafulcontrol of Bom #treet and the court.

Bhe remaining 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists ho did not openl! renounce ictor

;outeff's teachings, and ho ould not follo en Roden's leadership, and those ho since the

reach in the Church have taken up the 8avidian doctrines, eist toda! in aout a half doKen

different maHor groups hich are not in unit! among themselves as to hat ictor ;outeff's message

reall! teaches (especiall! r egarding the leadership of the Church). @one of them have the gift of

prophec! among them, and, therefore, none of them have a president (though some do have

self+appointed vice presidents). Bhe!, until ver! recentl!, have strictl! maintained their reform ork

among #8As, as as the polic! under ictor ;outeff. ?ost of their leaders ad mouth the teachings

of en Roden and >ois Roden, misrepresenting them to those of their groups ho ould seek to

investigate their teachings, much as is the polic! of #eventh 8a! Adventists toards the 8avidian

doctrine. Bhe! emplo! man! of the same techniIues against the ranch doctrines that the!condemn the #8As and other denominations for using against them + such as prohiiting them from

speaking in church meetings, and even ph!sicall! removing them from church propert!.

Dhen the 133 shootout involving the =oreshians ecame knon, the 8avidian groups came

forard to distance themselves from those ho ere eing called "ranch 8avidians," as the #eventh

8a! Adventists ere doing as ell. Bhose 8avidians also used the opportunit! to speak out against

our teachings, and denigrate en and >ois Roden. Bheir pulications concerning the histor! and

doctrines of t he ranch er e no less misrepresentative of t he facts than ere those of t he

Adventists. Coming from a people ho oast of having a more honest attitude toards those ith

hom the! differ, their taking advantage of the situation ith =oresh to ad mouth us is trul! am!ster!.

Bhough the 8avidians in ictor ;outeff's da!, and thereafter, eisted in relative oscurit! as

far as the general pulic as concerned (until recentl!), the same is not true of the ranch movementunder en and >ois Roden. ord's #upper, the timing and thesignificance of the occasion for those reformed Adventists marked a maHor step in the restitution of

all things for those "hich keep the commandments of God, and have the testimon! of Jesus Christ"

(Revelation 12: 17). ;o this matter directl! relates to the situation ith =oresh and his folloersill e discussed later.

#hortl! thereafter, en R oden reinstituted the partaking of the >ord's #upper at all of the

ilical feast da!s (assover, entecost, Bhe 8a! of Atonement, the @e ?oons,and #aaths). ;e

shoed that these times of refreshing ere not shado! t!pes hich had passed aa!, or hich ere

/


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suHect to change ! the ill of men. Concerning the assover, Jesus said, "Dith desire < have desired

to eat this passover ith !ou efore < suffer: or < sa! unto !ou, < ill not an! more eat thereof, until

it e fulfilled in the k ingdom of God." >uke 22:10,1. Bhough certain ordinances of the feasts have

changed since there has een a change in the la due to the change in the priesthood (;eres 7: 12),

the feasts themselves still remain as signs of events past, present, and future. Bhe apostle aul said,

"urge out therefore the old leaven, that !e ma! e a ne lump, as !e are unleavened. or even

Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Bherefore let us keep the feast, not ith old leaven, neither

ith the leaven of malice and ickedness4 ut ith the unleavened read of sincerit! and truth." 1

Corinthians 0:7, . Itould not have made an! sense for the Catholic Church to think to change thetime (8aniel 7:20) of the keeping of the @e Covenant assover feast in the fourth centur! if it

een done aa! ith at the cross. Bhe perpetuit! of the #aath and the @e ?oons are knon from

ord's #upper dail! for all ranch memers at the ilical orship hours as in theApostolic Church (Acts 2:/).

It isn't onl! the matter of the proper time and manner of doing these things hich holds the

orth of it, ut rather God's ork in Christ, through the ;ol! Ghost, at those times. A participation

in the time and acts ithout the direct effect of a true, orking faith in God's methods in orking out

the plan of salvation is not onl! of no value, ut is inHurious to the soul. "


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8avidians are not reformed in this matter.

;o this step in the reformation ecame a significant factor in regard to those ho ended up

folloing 8avid =oresh is this. Along ith the partaking of the memorial emlems of Christ's

sufferings and the promise of ;is return, there is to e a thorough eamination of one's self, and a

confession of sin to those ronged and to the >ord. Bhe various past and present messages had

emphasiKed the ile doctrine of hat ould happen to those ho failed to allo the ;ol! #pirit to

cleanse them though the lood of Christ ! such an eamination. (1 Corinthians 11:27+1). And that

1# h! those particular people ended up ith =oresh. Bhe! ould not allo the ;ol! #pirit to humle

them, and the! hardened their hearts to the point that the! forsook most all of the fundamental

ilical teachings of the Church in order to accept = oresh's teachings. #ome of the specifics of thisill e presented later.

Dithin the man! pulications of 9llen Dhite, ictor ;outeff, en and >ois Roden there is

great light on the events of the last da!s of the present age, and the great glor! !et to e revealed in

this dark orld efore Christ returns in all ;is glor!. Bhis is especiall! true of the events involved in

the setting up of God's everlasting kingdom and the trials of the saints leading to their eventual

lieration from the poers of oppression. Dithin the teachings of all of the various phases of the

#eventh 8a! Adventist movement is a specific focus on America's place in prophec!. ulishing

light on this matter for the general pulic as a particular feature of en's ork.

en Roden as the prophetpresident of the ranch 8#8A Church from shortl! after thedeath of ictor ;outeff, until the fall of 137, hen he died. ;e as a true Christian gentleman, and

as ell respected ! those ho kne him. 8espite the longstanding controvers! ith the #8A

ministr!, and the fact that en had een disfelloshipped from the #8A Church for having accepted

the 8avidian reform teachings, some of the most prominent leaders of the #8As in Beas officiatedat his funeral.

efore he as disfelloshipped, he, >ois (his ife), and others had raised the funds to uild an

#8A Church in dessa, Beas. ;e served as an elder therein. After he as disfelloshipped, the #8A

leadership attempted ! court actions to keep him from attending ser vices at the ver! church

uilding he had uilt. At the hearing, the court ruled tha t he could not e prohiited from peaceal!

attending services there, and the Hudge said that if the #8A leaders ere ever ack in his court again

over this matter that he ouid "thro the ook" at them. en is uried on the ?ount of lives in


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special understanding as to the importance of this lost truth, it as ovious to man! of the ranch

elievers that she had een anointed ! God a s a c o+prophetpresident of the Church, and as

accepted as such ! her husand and some other ranch leaders and memers. ois)

as leader, and this gave rise to man! prolems. Itis of note that most of those ho at first ere so

adamantl! set against the idea of >ois eing in the leadership and her teaching on the femininit! of

the ;ol! #pirit ere those ho ended up going ith =oresh.

As she egan to preach and pulish hat as eing shon to her, more and more proofs from

the #criptures, Jeish and Christian historical ritings, as ell as those from contemporar! ministers,

rais, priests, scholars and others ere eing given to her. Bhe message as going orldide through

our on literature hich as eing printed at the headIuarters, through nespapers throughout @orth

America, 9ngland, Australia, and the hilippines, and ! radio and television. or >ois' studies on the

feminine aspect of the Godhead go to L5>ois 1. Roden666, and for others on this suHect ! thisauthor go to L5>atest #tudies666.

ois' first orn

son, George . Roden, claimed that he as to e the ne president ecause of his irthright. Bhis

fact, in and of itself, holds no eight as to determining ho is t o e the president according to the

Church's "on#titution and Bla5#. or the first couple of !ears after >ois egan teaching of the

femininit! of the ;ol! #pirit, George ould not accept the facts of the matter that ere presented to

him. ;e later generall! accepted the teaching and >ois' inspiration in the matter ut still discountedher right to the leadership.

Itis ritten, "or the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother,

the daughter in la against her mother in la4 a man's enemies are the men of his on house." ?icah7:. #o it as ith >ois.

George proceeded to set himself in opposition to his mother, contrar! to the fact that his

father, en, had full! accepted >ois' inspiration and leadership, and had acknoledged such in riting

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to the congregation. ut, in spite of this, George egan to ad mouth her in his on pulications. ;e

also attempted to sell some things hich elonged to the Church to further his on agenda. ;e

anted to go to ois as interested in uilding the spiritual temple

+ the pure Church. ;e gained a small folloing, and ith their help as causing numerous prolems

for >ois.

ois as forced to go to the courts for an inHunction against George to prevent him

from claiming to e and acting as the president of the Church. ecause of George's actions, it ecame

necessar! for purposes of the la suit for >ois to poll the ranch memers to determine if the church

memers ere acknoledging her leadership or George's. George tried to gather to himself position

seekers and others ho ould not huml! investigate >ois' message, or ho had something personall!

against her.

Bhe court ruling as against George, and a permanent inHunction as issued against him

L5see Appendi 2M6. ois had to return to court to have George held under

contempt charges for violating that inHunction. Bhe ruling in this case, and >ois' continuing eercise

of her rights as president in this matter prove that >ois Roden as the onl! legall! recogniKed

president of the ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists until her death in @ovemer, 13.

Actuall!, from 1373, George had een using the name "ranch Association" to identif! his uniIue

faction. urthermore, this shos that George Roden as never recogniKed as eing the president of

the 8#8A Church hile >ois as alive. @or did he succeed her in said office after her death, as has

een repeatedl! portra!ed incorrectl! ! the nes media and ! other reporters and riters.>ois pulished much of her distinct message under the name

)((* WA+&RS

ecause George felt that he had the right to the leadership, and, therefore, an! mone! that

came into the Church's mail o, >ois as forced to change the mailing addresses on her literature.

#he also decided to pulish man! of her ritings under the name +ivin' Water# (or +ivin' Water#

Branch). 9ven though she pulished under these names, she never changed the name of the Church

itself. All of the contention ith George made >ois' ork of proclaiming the truth of the femininit!

of the ;ol! #pirit, and the restoration of the famil! image on earth as it is in heaven much more

difficult. Bhough she regularl! displa!ed the divine grace hich as guiding her, she ould also admitthat she as a eak and erring mortal.

esides the hostilit! she as facing from ithin her on congregation and famil!, and that of

the self+satisfied religious orld, there as another force orking against her hich rought her much

aniet!. Bhat is, flatter!. As her ork of restoring omen to their rightful place of eIualit! ith

men as meeting ith positive feedack, some people egan to idoliKe her. Bhis rought her man!

personal trials. @ot onl! as she faced ith the temptation of self+ealtation (pride), ut had to deal

ith those (mostl! omen, ut even some men) ho ere attempting to avoid using their on minds

and consciences ! sustituting >ois' opinion's in all things for their on personal relationship ith

the ;ol! #pirit. #he ould epress to me her concern for those ho ere doing this, and the danger

that the! ere in. Itas under these circumstances that there came aout hat can appropriatel! edescried as

+'& &*+&R(* OF A DRAO*

Itas during the time of >ois' struggle ith George that ernon ;oell came to @e ?ount

Cannel Center. Bhe first time as in 131. Bhe dispute over the presidenc! eteen George and >ois

as not a light matter, and it caused significant confusion, tension, and division ithin the ranch

congregation. Certain of the male memers (and even some female memers) of the Church ere

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offended ecause a oman (>ois) as the ne leader. Bhis as reall! odd ecause the! ere

professing to e memers of a church hich as f ounded on the inspired ork of a oman, 9llen G.

Dhite, and hose ritings ere regularl! read and Iuoted. ois. Bhese to men ere among the first to

accept the teachings of ernon ;oell, and the first to give at least one of their daughters to e hisives or concuines. err!'s daughter, Rachel, ecame his onl! legal ife in 13/, at age 1/. Bo

!ears later, ernon announced that the >ord had told him to give his "seed" to another minor+aged

girl, and that her father had given him his permission for such. >ater, Clive's !oungest daughter,

#heri, gave irth to to of ernon's man! children. #he and her children died in the 133 fire, as did

Rachel and her children.

ernon took advantage of the prolems hich err!, Clive, and George ere causing (and the

fact that >ois as alloing George to live on ?t. Carmel) ! pla!ing on Clive's and er r!'s personal

grievances against >ois and George to in their affections. ;e started telling people that the reason

that the! had not !et overcome as the! anted to, and h! there ere so man! ostacles hich

seemed to e arising all the time, as ecause of George's presence and >ois' reluctance to remove

him. ;e told people that the onl! a! to solve the prolem as to accept his message and leadership.

At this same time, >ois kne of the sins of those ho professed to e folloing herleadership, and considered them as ad or orse than George's, for the! ere Christians, and he as

not. Bhe! had a measure of the ;ol! #pirit, and George did not. Bherefore, >ois sa that if ever!one

ho as causing prolems should e made to leave ?t. Carmel, there ould e no one left, for no one

as as perfect as the! could have een.


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>ois Roden ! laming her for ever!thing. Bhe devil, through ernon, as pla!ing ernon (and his

folloers, Clive, err!, etc.,) against George (and his supporters), and George against ernon, ith

>ois, and her supporters (such as me) in the middle. Bhere ere even a fe people ho elieved >ois'

teachings on the femininit! of the ;ol! #pirit, etc., and ho ere passing out her literature, !et at

the same time ere supporting George or promoting themselves. #he and the heaven+ordained

message hich she as earing ere, as it ere, eing crucified eteen to thieves (usurpers of her

cron), George and ernon, as as Christ. Actuall!, it as Christ in ;is prophetic ord rought !

the ;ol! Ghost through >ois hich as eing crucified afresh ! his on professed folloers (#ee

;eres :/+).

8espite all of this, >ois as still pulishing hat the >ord as shoing her, and as getting

orldide support for the truth of the femininit! of the ;ol! #pirit and oman's true place in the

Church ministr!, that of eIualit!. ois on an A5ard of ,cellence from

the 2eli'ion in -edia An'el A5ard# (the Academ! Aards of religious roadcasting) for her

She(inah magaKine. Also around this time she on another aard from the Dove ord had told him that >ois had to stoppulishing her literature. #ome of ernon's on ords regarding the matter of his aggression against

>ois Roden's leadership and pulishing, and of her reHection of his claims are presented in

L5Appendi M6.

8uring the eeks prior to the fire, < sa ernon repeatedl! going into the small uilding

hich contained the pump for the ell hich supplied ater for ?t. Carmel, and messing ith that

pump. At the time of the fire, the ater pump as not orking, and, thus, the fire departments

hich came to put out the fire didn't have an! ater availale to them. 8uring the fire someone

stated that the! thought that an animal had cheed through some electrical ires in the ceiling of the

uilding and that that is hat caused the fire. And though there as no actual investigation of the

matter, the numerous fire departments hich ere there all ent aa! ith that stor!, and that stor!as reported in the press.

Dhat is notale aout this is that there ere no electrical ires in that portion of the uildinghere the fire started. Bhere is a prevailing ind hich los across ?t. Carmel Center, and that

morning the ind as Iuite strong, loing from the right side of the Administration uilding toards

the left as one faces the front of the uilding. Bhis as the same direction the ind as loing on

April 13, 133 hen =oresh's compound urnt + hich, incidentall!, as uilt on the same place

ere the Administration uilding had een situated. ois').


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on the principle of comparing ne thoughts ith those previousl! revealed ere easil! led to

disregard some of our most fundamental doctrines (such as those against pol!gam!).

?ost of those ho ecame ernon's "might! men" ere men ho ere not at all familiar

ith the nature and truths of the original movement ecause the! came in under his tutorage (or,

etter, his dictatorship). eople such as ?arc reault (hose testimon! aout hat the ranch is all

aout has een so heavil! relied upon) and 8avid Bhiadeau kno nothing, firsthand, of hat the

movement reall! teaches, or hat it is aout. oth of these men have ritten (or co+ritten) ooks

aout their eperiences ith ;oell=oresh. Bheir (and no much of the orld's) conception of the

nature of the movement is a product of ernon's amalgamation of our true doctrines and his tisted

reason mgs.or eample, #eventh 8a! Adventists, have, for militar! purposes, een classified as

noncomatants since the time of the civil ar + meaning that the! ould onl! serve in the militar!

as medics, cooks, or the like, ithout carr!ing eapons. Bheir general reasoning eing that there

ere Christians on oth sides of the conflict. Bhe 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists ent one step

further, classif!ing themselves as conscientious oHectors refusing to s erve in the militar!, also

ecause there ma! e Christians on the other side (eing forced to go to ar ! their governments),

and ecause the! could not practice their religious eliefs ithin the militar! lifest!le. It is also a

specific 8avidian teaching that Christians should not engage themselves in promoting items hich

kill people (i.e., selling guns, etc.). Oet ernon's folloers aandoned those principles ! engaging in

the u!ing and selling of guns, and ! their militaristic actions. Bhe! even encouraged militar!actions against themselves ! said practices. #o it is ritten, "all the! that take the sord shall perish

ith the sord" ?atthe 2:02.

ois and the rest of the memers ho didn't

follo ernon as that among those fe former memers ho did end up ith him ere most of the

memers of the ,ecutive "ouncil of the Church, and some o f their famil! memers.$nder our governing las, the memers of the ,ecutive "ouncil$ ithout the president ho

appointed them to said offices, do not hold an! legal authorit! to affect the Church or its propert!,

ut merel! act as advisors to that president (such as the resident of the $nited #tates' "a4inet).

ecause of the prolem that arose ith lorence ;outeff, en Roden had amended our "on#titutionand B!+a5#$ to specificall! prohiit the ,ecutive "ouncil from filling an! vacancies in theChurch's offices, and especiall! the office of pr esident. Bhat =oresh's folloers later totall!

disregarded our governing las in these matters ill e addressed later.

Dhat is perhaps the most significant departure from our asic teachings as ernon's action

at this time (13+/) in naming his group "8avidian ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists."

After #eptemer, 1300, hen en Roden as told ! the >ord that the ne name of the Church as

to e "Bhe ranch," he declared that

"the name of the church as changed several times to teach resent

Bruth up to that time. ut no that the ne name of Jesus has come, the name of

God's true church is changed to ?essiah's ne name and it ill never e changed again

since she (the church) is called ! the #on of God's ne name4 Bhe ranch ... " Seven+etter# to


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parent denominations, 8avidian #eventh+da! Adventists and #eventh+da!

Adventists." &he +eviticu# of t he Davidian Seventh!da Adventi#t#$ &he Branch

Su**leent$ page 0.

#o, at the ver! eginning of ernon's ork it as apparent that he had no regard for the

estalished teachings of the true Church for he acted contrar! thereto ! using the name hich he

did. Itas also evident that those ho had een ith the Church for a numer of !ears, and shouldhave knon etter, had more regard for the #oe and irror# ernon as presenting than the! did

for the Church's teachings and las. Itasn't that ernon as presenting them ith unIuestionaleepositions of the #criptures and Church ritings, ecause he asn't. Itas that he as pla!ing ontheir on individual selfish interests and their illingness to make someone else their minds and

consciences + for that person to e a god to them. ut those people ere certainl! not alone in doing

this. Itis done dail! throughout the orld ! man! people, religious or irreligious.

rior to 13/, hen ernon and his f olloers left ?t. Carmel Center under the name

"8avidian ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists," ernon as constantl! antagoniKing George !

demonstrations of his ph!sical strength and his claim that >ois and George had to die if the! ould

not accept his message. ois,

and those ho ere Hoining George and ernon against her, etc.), >ois as also eginning to elieve

hat ernon as sa!ing. #he as eginning to feel that the prolem as ith her, and that she had to

accept his message as the remed!. ;e as coming at her like a locomotive from hell. ;e as

incessantl! using man! oscure ile tets hich had not een commented on previousl! (and even

ones hich had een) to convince her and others of h is ne message (sic). ;e took advantage of

ever! opportunit! he could to omard her ith his convoluted logic. ;e ould not let up, ut ould

come at her da! and night, hour after hour, attempting to ear her out. It is ritten of >ucifer,

"ehold, thou art iser than 8aniel4 there is no secret the! can hide from thee." 9Kekiel 2:. Bhe

devil as ale to use ernon's talents and knoledge of the ile (large parts of hich he had

committed to memor!), along ith his on vast knoledge of the ile and histor!, to present his

masterpiece of deception to attempt to "deceive the ver! elect" (?atthe 2/:2/).

All of these things ere most perpleing to >ois and e ho ere helping her in her

heaven+appointed ork. #uddenl! the contention eteen George and ernon as eclipsing our

mission to share ith others the light of heaven hich e had een receiving, and man! ere

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ecoming disheartened. Bhe devil as using his age+old divide and con=uer techniIue, and it as

fulfilling his diaolic scheme. 9ven though >ois, and other of her most lo!al supporters, ere

temporaril! overcome (orn out + 8aniel 7:20) ! #atan's representative, ernon ;oell, the >ord

nevertheless declares of her and them, "Bhe >ord reuke thee, - #atan4 even the >ord that hath

chosen Jerusalem reuke thee. ois and the

true Church, such as me. ?! name appeared on that court order as eing ernon's "agent." @othing

could have een further from the truth. < later received a letter from George in hich he admitted

that he as mistaken aout me eing ernon's "agent." < never gave an! tithes to an!one other than>ois, and as authoriKed ! her to receive others' tithes to pass on to her until her death.

George took this court action not as president of the Church, ut as a &ru#tee of the Church's

propert! (?t. Carmel Center). George as one of the three original trustees of ?t. Carmel Center,

along ith en and >ois. ;e used this position in his pleading efore the court to otain the court

order. As ernon had urned don the Administration uilding hich contained the active

memership list a !ear efore this, >ois' hands ere tied ! circumstances. Bhis mailing list, hich

contained thousands of names, man! of hich ere groups, as the primar! means that >ois ould

have had in contacting the Church's memers to inform them of hat as happening and to attempt

to ard off George's and ernon's attempts to steal her right to the presidenc! of the Church.

Bhough man! of the names on the mailing list ere recovered from ackup sources, there as

another prolem hich >ois had in defending herself. Bhat is, ecause of ernon and George's actions

much of the tithe mone!s stopped coming to >ois. Aside from those ho ere supporting ernonand George, others ere indecisive aout ho to support and ere ithholding their tithes and

offerings. #o even though she had the addresses of man! of the memers, she d id not have thefinancial means to contact them effectivel!.

Bhere as a ois's signature, as a forger! (either ! err! Jones, or

ernon, himself). Itasn't even a close forger!. #uch as ernon's method of using >ois to promotehimself.

ater, after >ois' death, he used this circumstance to gain s!mpath! from a Hur!

and the pulic ! further portra!ing himself and his folloers as eing persecuted ones, eiled fromtheir homes.

9ven though >ois as greatl! handicapped ! the uncertaint! of man! of those ho had

formerl! supported her ork, and ! George and those ith him, ernon did not even tr! to

challenge, ! vote or an! legal means, >ois' right to the presidenc! of the Church hile she as

alive, f or he kne that even though the memership as in disarra!, she still could gain enough

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support to ard off his attempt to dethrone her. George's court order as appropriate in one sense

ecause ernon and his folloers ere a separate group under a different name from that of the true

Church, and ere acting and teaching contrar! to the Church's teaching on the matter of hat the

name of the Church should e, and in other regards. ernon as also attempting to use other things

oned ! the Church hich ere under >ois' control, and hich he as not authoriKed to use. #ome

of ernon's on ords regarding this are presented in L5Appendi M6

9ver!thing that ernon as doing had a cloak of darkness aout it. Bhis fact seemed to make

no difference to those fe former ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists ho left the true

movement to Hoin ernon's ne and separate movement under the name 8avidian ranch 8avidian

#eventh 8a! Adventists. Bhis as s!molicall! revealed in an incident hich occurred aout a !ear

after ernon and his folloers moved off of ?t. Carmel Center and ended up in alestine, Beas at

hat as to e the headIuarters of his ne, separate, and distinct movement and association for the

net fe !ears. Bhat is, he dug a large hole in the ground ith a ackhoe, and after it had filled up

ith rain, he aptiKed his folloers in that mudd! hole.

After the! left ?t. Carmel in the spring of 13/, and efore the! ended up in alestine,

ernon and his folloers ere around the Daco area for a hile, here the! got into troule ith a

oman ho as tr!ing to help them ! giving them a place to sta! and some ork to do. Bhe ork

the! did as so ad, the oman thre them out.

ernon and his folloers ere hired ! the oman to re+roof a house. Bhe correct a! to la!

the tar paper on a roof is to la! it parallel to the horiKontal edge of the roof. ernon had such acontrol over the thinking of his folloers that the! folloed his directions and laid it verticall! in

spite of their on protests. < as driving ! one da! and sa them doing it. Dhat is of note here is

that one person in particular, #tan #ilvia, has stated pulicl! that he raised serious oHections to

ernon aout la!ing the paper verticall!, ut eventuall! gave in to ernon's demands ecause he

elieved that ernon as God's man. Bhat same man as among those hose ives later ecame

ernon's ives (or concuines) and ore him children. #tan as also on television after the 133

incident oasting of ho proud he as for having given in to ernon's demand regarding the tar

paper, hile den!ing that his ife had an! children ! ernon, in spite of the fact that tests proved

differentl!.

At that same assover time (spring time) in 13/, another man, Charles ace, ho had

previousl! also claimed to have a special message for the ranch memers, pulicl! proclaimed that

he kne that George as to e t he net prophet (president) and proceeded to give him aroundT1/,---. ;e gave him that mone! in order to set up a health center on ?t. Carmel. ;e did this even

though he professed to e folloing >ois' leadership, and kne that George had no legal right to do

an!thing like setting up a health center on ?t. Carmel, and that >ois had told ever!one not to give

financial support to George. @ot onl! did George use this mone! to further oppress >ois and those

ho supported her message and ork, ut it also gave him the oost to his ego hich pushed him

over the edge. #hortl! after he as given this mone!, he damaged some of Charles' propert! and

thre him off ?t. Carmel. Charles as also one of the people ho encouraged George to e the "civil

ruler" of ?t. Carmel Center, and ma! have een the one ho as foremost in promoting the idea.

rior to that time, Charles ace as so adamant in proclaiming that he, himself, had a special

message from the >ord (hich also as not in harmon! ith the testimon! thus far revealed) that

>ois had to an him from speaking at a n! meetings of the congregations in his area. At the 13/

assover meetings he proclaimed (in riting and orall!) that he and his sister ere specialrepresentatives and representations of Christ and the ;ol! Ghost. >ater, after he as married a

second time, he changed that vie, sa!ing that it as he and his ne ife ho ere that special

representation.

At that same time there as also another rother and sister from Canada (hich is here

Charles as from) ho ere also teaching that the! ere the same sort of special representation.

Bhat is, hillip and Ruth ttman. oth the! and their mother, Glad!s, ended up ith ;oell=oresh.

Ruth is the one that came out of the urning uilding on April 13, 133, and had to e held ! a la

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officer from going ack into the uilding. #he spent some time in Hail after the incident, and as

thereafter sent ack to Canada, here her rother and mother ere.

Charles is no attempting to pass himself off as >ois' successor, even though almost all of

the memers or former memers of the Church reHect his teachings. A couple of !ears after the 133

incident, he moved to Daco and turned one of the to remaining structures on the Church's

propert!, our dair! arn, into a place here he holds his meetings. A fe !ears after >ois' death, he

named his faction "Bhe >iving Daters ranch of Righteousness." After Iinformed one of his

supporters, Bom Caldell, that there as n o provision in the Church's teachings or las for the

original Church to e so named, and that it as actuall! contrar! to our teachings on the matter, he

dropped that name, and took up the name, "Bhe ranch, Bhe Congregation of Bhe >ord (O;;)

ur Righteousness." Charles later Hoined hands ith the =oreshians in their attempt to otain title tothe Church's propert!.

8ue to all of the oppression directed toards >ois and her message, those ho ere ith >ois

and ho had reHected ernon's teachings ere in disma!. Bhe devil as using George, ernon,

Charles, and the others ho ere running around claiming that the! had received special light from

the >ord and that the! ere no the anointed


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seventh (saatical) !ear of her ministr!, and in late 130 egan pulishing again. #he had received

much light on the situation e had gone though during that saatical !ear, and ne light on another

precious hidden truth, and as tr!ing to sho ernon and those ith him the deception into hich

the! had fallen.

All the truths hich had een revealed ithin the Advent movement up to that time (130)

had een eas! to prove to an!one ho had a true desire to kno hat the ile teaches. ut the ile

itself reveals that there are some matters hich are "hard to e uttered, seeing EeF are dull of

hearing." (;eres 0:11). Bhere are also things hich are onl! for those ho overcome, as it is

ritten, ";e that hath an ear, let him hear hat the #pirit saith unto the churches4 Bo him that

overcometh ill < give to eat of the hidden manna, .... " (Revelation 2: 17). #uch it is ith that hich

>ois egan to teach in 130.

Bhe ile also declares that the >ord sa!s

"< have declared the former things from the eginning4 and the! ent

forth out of m! mouth, and < sheed them4 < did them suddenl!, and the! came to

pass. ecause < kne that thou art ostinate, and th! neck is an iron sine, and th!

ro rass4 < have even from the eginning declared it to thee4 efore it came to pass

< sheed it thee: lest thou shouldest sa!, ?ine idol hath done them, and m! graven

image, and m! molten image, hath commanded them. Bhou hast heard, see all this4

and ill not !e declare itP < have sheed thee ne things from this time, even hiddenthings, and thou didst not kno them. Bhe! are created no. and not from the

eginning4 even efore the da! hen thou heardest them not4 lest thou shouldest sa!,

ehold, < kne them. Oea, thou heard est not4 !ea, thou kneest not4 !ea, from that

time that thine ear as not opened: for < kne that thou ouldest deal ver!

treacherousl!, and ast called a transgressor from the om."ois egan teaching in late 130 + it is for those ho have

overcome, or are in process of doing so. As such, those things are contained in her pulications,

ound up in a stud! entitled L5Bhe ride of Christ666. ther studies on the suHect are also

availale inour 5s'5>atest #tudies666.

B;9 +R+' (S (* +'& COR+ R&CORDS

8uring this same time (130, and onards) George as in the courts again, tr!ing to

represent the Church in a ta case hich arose from a change in the ta status of @e ?ount Carmel

Center. At the same time he as tr!ing to retrieve the old ?t. Carmel propert! hich had een

unlafull! taken from the Church in the da!s of lorence ;outeff. ;e as failing in these endeavors

ecause he felt that he could do things all on his on. f course, this as a cause of great frustration

for George, hich, among other things, later landed him in Hail on contempt of court charges.


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ones around.

ecause George as again attempting to act a s the president of the Church in 130, >ois had

to ring him up on contempt of court charges again. At the court, >ois presented an affidavit in

hich she sore that she as the "president" of the "ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists"

L5see Appendi /M6. Bhis as filed on ?arch 2, 130. Bhis as aout a !ear and one half after

ernon ;oell claimed that he had succeeded her as president, and that she had lost said office, and

had passed her "cron"on to him.

Around that same time George had filed a suit in federal court claiming that his right to the

presidenc! of the Church had een violated. Bhe case as filed in the $nited #tates 8istrict Court,

Destern 8istrict of Beas, Daco 8ivision, as Civil Action @o. D+0+CA+33. Bhe case as against

>ois, ernon, a Daco Hudge, an attorne!, lorence ;outeff (then knon as lorence 9akin), Charles

ace, and others.. >ois had set forth her on defense separate from that of ernon and those former

ranch memers ho ere then folloing his leadership rather than hers. ernon's defense as not

onl! separate from >ois', ut as made from the premise that he as actuall! the president of a

congregation other than the ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists. Bhat is, the "8avidian

ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists." L5see Appendi 1M6

>ois had filed her sorn statement regarding eing the president of the 8#8A on ?arch 2,

130, and aout 2 1 1 2 months later (on June 1-, 130 + aou t a !ear and one half after he started his

ne group under the ne name) ;oell filed his sorn statement herein he stated that he is the

resident of "Bhe 8avidian ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventist Association." (emphasis added).Bhis.clearl! shos that there ere to separate associations (actuall! three, counting George's

faction), ith different leaders, using different names, at the same time.


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ernon as actuall! representing himself as eing the leader of a group distinct from that of >ois or

George, and that his on sorn testimon! in that case proves it. ut, despite this, that fact as

knon to some prominent people in Daco. Bhe fact that ;oell as using that different name for

his distinct faction, and as also the leader of that separate association as rought forth in ritten

pleadings in at least to other court cases in Daco prior to the 133 incident.

#tranger still is that even though these records are a part of the federal court records, the fact

of ;oelll=oresh claiming to e the leader of a group distinct from the 8#8A has never een made

pulic ! an! government agenc!, nor nes agenc!, despite the fact that the! have een notified of

this ! various people. 9ven the so+called researchers and eperts ho have ritten on the histor! of

;oell=oresh and the 8#8A Church have missed, ignored, or suppressed this matter. or some,

this has een intentional, for the! have intended on portra!ing the 8#8A Church in as ad of a

light as possile. Dh! the fact that ;oell as actuall! the leader of a different association under a

different name has een suppressed e ill further eplained later on in this testimon! (though !no the reasons should e somehat ovious).

ois' death that ;oell file d a document L5Appendi

0M6 in the count! records office of ?c>ennan Count!, Beas, herein he claimed to e president

of the ranch 8avidian #eventh 8a! Adventists. Bhat as around four !ears after he claimed that he

as the ne president of the Church, replacing >ois. ;oell never attempted to challenge >ois' right

to the office of president of the Church ! vote, nor ! legal proceedings, efore her death, for he

kne she had the support of the vast maHorit! of the Church and that his doctrines and practicescould not stand the light of da!.

rom mid+130 until >ois' death in @ovemer of 13, there as no one living on ?t.

Carmel Center ho as reall! ith >ois. #ince 13/ George had een forcil! controlling ho could

come on ?t. Carmel. A fe people came and ent, ut the onl! ones that George ould allo on the

propert! ere those ho ere in s!mpath! ith him, or those hom >ois ould insist on eing

alloed to come there (such as me). As George's on character as deteriorating, so as that of hisfe remaining folloers.

$pon our returning to ?t. Carmel from a missionar! trip to Canada aout five eeks prior to

her death in @ovemer of 1 3, >ois epressed to me that she reall! did not ant to go ack there

ecause she felt like a prisoner there ecause of George. #he didn't ant to enforce the contempt

order hich as alread! in effect against George, for, in one sense, he as ale to help kept ernon

off of ?t. Carmel. esides this, she kne that she as sick, and might not e around too muchlonger, and she did not kno ho ould e her successor as president of the Church. Along ith this

is the fact that she as using the little mone! hich as coming in to pulish her literature, andcouldn't afford the costs of going to court again.

< as living in Daco at this time, and had to call >ois, ho ould have to tell George that ois' folloers had een scared aa! ! all the commotion hich George as causing ! earing a

gun (hich as prompted ! provocations from ernon), and ! ernon's pronouncements of adeadl! situation hich as to occur at ?t. Carmel.

>ois spent the remaining !ear of her life visiting memers, and pulishing hat as eing

revealed to her. #he as receiving great light on t he f eminine aspect of the Godhead. >ois didn't

attempt to overturn George's court order hich removed her folloers along ith ernon and hisfolloers from ?t. Carmel due to the lack of financial support caused ! all of the confusion, and due

to another prominent reason. #he kne that ernon as going to tr! to gain control of the propert!

and the Church's name and good reputation. #he and George ere in agreement on that one matter.

8uring this time she ould also attend ernon's meetings in alestine, Beas in an attempt to sho

him and his folloers the errors of their a!s. #he didn't do this ! directl! attacking ernon's

claims, ut rather ! presenting them ith the ne light she as receiving. ernon had een claiming

that she had lost her "cron" (her inspiration), and thus the presidenc! of the Church, and she as

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shoing them that he as rong ! presenting them ith the proof of God's continuing ork

through her. After her death, ernon ould tr! to use the fact that she ould come to some of his

meetings as proof that she as a folloer of his. Oet his on testimon! related herein L5AppendiM6 and other facts prove otherise.

8espite all t he overhelming evidence in the first fe !ears as to the trul! deceptive

character of ernon and his ork, and all of the ne evidence hich >ois had een presenting to

them, those ho ere ith ernon ere too proud to admit that the! had een deceived, and ere

convinced that the! could not turn ack (as ere the fallen angels ho had sided ith >ucifer in his

reellion in heaven). Bhis as ecause the! did not take hat ernon as teaching to God in honest,

heartfelt pra!er in order to k no hether or not it as true. Bhe! felt that the! ere ale to

understand hat as truth all on their on. Bherefore, hen the! sa that the! might e in error

the! could not repent of their foolishness ecause the! alone ere to lame for their deception.

Bhe! loved their on supposed ailit! for discerning spiritual things more than direct

inspiration from God. ernon took them step ! step aa! from the strong moral foundation hich

the! had learned of (or could have learned of) in the #8A, 8#8A, and 8#8A movements, and led

them into the dark orld of his self+deceived heart here the! learned to entertain the evil spirits of

lies, deceit, perversion, and intemperance. Bhis should e a arning to all to seek heave

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The Warfare of Vernon Howell... Against the Branch

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